[Gpsma]

You had my attention until you mentioned that you consider Amerikanos the place you can act like the Frank Sinatra of The Villages.

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

It has ALWAYS been a tough industry. The numbers are all over the board, but in clicking around the numbers that appears most often are that 60% of restaurants fail in their first year and 80% within five years, the #1 cause of failure being lack of experience in the business.

Thank goodness we have the ability to vote with our feet, so to speak. I am unforgiving of poor service and/or poor food quality no matter where I encounter it, all the more so in these days of rising prices. I tip 10% no matter what, 15% for average service. For really excellent service and food I’ll tip as high as 30%, especially if we are frequent patrons of such a place, which drives my wife up the wall but there is a definite advantage to being known as a good tipper. It guarantees good service the next time out. Example: Americanos in Spanish Springs. We eat there frequently; good food, really competitive prices and excellent service. We’re on a first-name basis with a couple of the waitstaff and we always get good service there.